Macaulay at South Dakota

Ok..So we knew we were going to South Dakota…to a Native American reservation and we were all very excited to finally meet “real” Native Americans. To our surprise, did we end up learning a lot more than what we previously thought we knew…

I was expecting a “true” Native American…like the ones you see in the history textbooks one is presented in school. Boy, was I in for it…

After two days on the trip and after a day on the reservation itself, i wondered, “where are all the native americans?” i didn’t have to look further–they were right under my nose…

We met Jerry Farlee, executive director of the affiliate here in south dakota. although, he looks far from anything remotely native american, he truly is. Looking at his deep blue eyes and fair skin, it took me a long time to accept that he was indeed native american..my perception of what a native american should be is far from what a true native american is….Was my mind closed? Was i already trained to look at the world in a particular way and in my stubborn manners not see the beauty of what was in front of me?

Not only was Jerry a true Native American but the site supervisor, Ted, was also one. He looked a little more Native American than Jerry… He is very cool…..He’s very friendly and a nice man to hang around…He has the most gorgeous 3 year old  in the whole wide world! ( Secretely, I want to keep Ted Jr.)

This trip is part of something that I will never experience again…It’s incredible that so few us–and by that  i mean people living in the USA–get to know so little about their own country. Although this nation is my adopted country, it is still worthwhile that I get to know a different side of America that most people don’t get to experience. And for that, I am truly grateful.

 Most people would say, “South Dakota, what in the world are you going to do over there?” It may seem like the middle of nowhere among the vast “High Plains” as they call it here, but to the people living here it is home. And its the only one they are most happy. These people are friendly and considerate and welcoming. Jerry told us that a stranger may start up a 15 minute conversation after a simple “hello.”

This experience is eye opening. I’m not only referring to the fact that my perception of Native Americans has changed after this but that it has exposed me to a different part of this nation that otherwise I would have never seen…

Jerry told us that we are ambassadors to this reservation and all those living here and all those to come.  Walt Whitman wrote in one of his famous poems, “Distance avails not….Time avails not” referring to, I think, the fact that we are all truly connected to one another. Not only are we all really one because “we bleed the same blood,” as Jerry puts it, but we are all on this reservation, in this nation, on this planet, IN THIS UNIVERSE!

 We need each other to survive and to prosper, to become better individuals each day. Now I really do feel that I am capable to telling other individuals of what I’ve seen here and what I’ve done here…All of us on this trip carry a certain responsibility to tell others and always carry this experience in our hearts and i hope, to touch other people’s lives…